GSU: Southern to Sun Belt?

Georgia State’s move to the Sun Belt Conference will likely result in the school having its first meaningful rivalries in over a decade and continued conference realignment may give the Panthers an in-state conference foe.


Georgia State, who joins the Sun Belt as its football program makes the jump to the FBS level, already had ambitions of regional rivalries with South Alabama, who is 1-1 against State in football, and Troy, who was formerly a conference foe of the Panthers in the TAAC.

However, the AJC is reporting that Georgia Southern and Appalachian State may eventually join the Sun Belt as conference realignment continues.  The move would create an instate in-state rivalry for the Panthers with Georgia Southern, who would welcome such a relationship:

“[Tom] Kleinlein (Southern’s athletic director) called a rivalry with Georgia State in the Sun Belt “very appealing.” He noted the possibility of incorporating corporate sponsorship of an all-sports trophy that the universities could compete for annually.”

In all fairness, Georgia State and Georgia Southern have a rivalry -- mostly bickering over which school is the real ‘GSU’ on message boards (to settle the matter, where does this link take you and what is the URL?) -- and the schools’ baseball, softball and soccer programs regularly play each other, in addition to matchups in other sports.  The schools also had a bit of rivalry when they were both members of the TAAC in the '80 and early '90s.

As is well explained by the AJC’s Panthers beat reporter, Doug Roberson, the move would create stability in numbers for the conference.  Southern and Appalachian State would grow to the FBS level and join an established conference, while the Sun Belt would eagerly welcome two of the top FCS programs in the nation as they batten down the hatches in the turbulent word or realignment:

“Benson’s conference has eight football-playing members. It can remain at eight, but by doing so it remains exposed if it were to lose a school to another conference. The Sun Belt could use at least 10 to ease scheduling and at least 12 to stage a championship game. Benson hasn’t said which schools his conference is considering, but it has been speculatively tied to four: Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, along with Idaho and New Mexico State, who are independents. The earliest any team could join is 2014.”

This beautiful map of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference alignment is courtesy the Dothan Eagle Troy Blog.  *UPDATE:  The AJC's Doug Roberson let me know this map isn't entirely accurate -- but it still is perty.

Georgia State would likely welcome the addition of Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, but the inclusion of New Mexico State and Idaho certainly must cause some concern for the school.  In part, Georgia State’s reasoning for departing the CAA included reduced travel expenses -- and trips to beautiful Moscow, Idaho certainly didn’t factor into those decisions.  But for the conference, the possibility of a championship game must be appealing -- can you say TV rights?

Regarding Southern, the opportunity to create a meaningful in-state rivalry for the Panthers makes the move especially intriguing to Georgia State.  In the school’s final years of A-Sun play, the team lacked any sort of natural rival -- if any rival at all -- and the school failed to develop an adversary in the CAA.  The Panthers never performed well enough in CAA basketball to warrant a rivalry and the closest regional rivalry with UNC Wilmington felt forced at best.

The move to the Sun Belt already had potential for the Panthers to foster their first rivalries in over a decade.  The potential membership of Georgia Southern only increases the appeal of the Sun Belt for the Panthers.

TUF 17 Ep.6 Recap: Tor's Hammered

For those who missed TUF 17Ep.6, here is a brief rundown of this week’s episode as we witnessed another sensational knockout in the matchup between Team Sonnen’s Tor Troeng and Team Jones’ Josh Samman.

The Blow by Blow
As Bubba McDaniel licked his wounds from his submission to Kevlin Gastelum, Team Sonnen built a hammer for Tor -- out of kinesio tape and objects at hand.  As expected, the team engaged in Bam Bam-like behavior with Tor’s hammer.

Luke Barnatt was popped by a jab from Uriah in training and ended the sparring session, claiming his opponent’s attitude sucks.

“He’s not really a team player.  He’s an individual and it is an individual and can respect that … but his attitude sucks.  Uriah’s got a big ego – hes an ego driven machine.”

With Gilbert Smith Jr. stirring the pot at dinner, Uriah called out Luke, his teammate, as a potential future matchup -- but quickly started backpedaling from the statement, saying he was discussing a future ‘best’ matchup scenario.

However, a seemingly mundane conversation then led to Uriah dropping a verbal bomb on Adam Cella: “Man, is your girl like a bitch like you?”

Uraih started backpedaling again, yet again continued his verbal assaults the next morning:  “The more I talk to (Josh) the more I don’t like him.  I just think he’s a dick.”

It’s obvious the house is uncomfortable with Uriah.

After the household melodrama, the teams went boxing where the coaches agreed to compete in a three-frame contest -- with the loser coaching a training session in the winning team’s jersey.  It came down to the last frame, but Jon Jones lost -- and promptly ran out of the bowling alley.

In the moments before the fight, Chael Sonnen gave Tor a backrub, prompting Luke to quip, “and people say wrestlers are gay.”

Get to Know Your Fighters
Tor (15-4-1) is a country boy from Sweden, which I assume means he probably owned a snowmobile and definitely tire chains.  He started training in martial arts at nine-years-old and began MMA at16.

The real Thor, with a real hammer.

Oh yeah, he’s smart -- he works part time as a university math researcher to fund his fighting.  And he’s a really relaxed dude.

Josh (9-2) is not a relaxed dude.  He’s an alpha male and even coached an evening workout session for his Team Jones at the house, which was received with mixed reviews.

He previously tried out for TUF and tore his quad, which resulted in a blood clot during the flight home.  After nearly losing his leg, Josh received 200 stiches and 40 staples in surgery, but has since recovered and exceed his previous results.  He grew up raised by a single mother who admonished violence, but Josh was an adrenaline junkie and viewed fighting as his opportunity to be great.

The Fight

After battling along the cage clinched for 110 seconds, Josh attempted a failed trip resulted in Tor having the first advantage.  However, Tor was unable to muster any offense on the ground and the foes returned to their feet -- and again resumed jockeying along the fence.

After a series of short knees by Josh, Tor pushed his partner away, but stumbled and retreated.  Josh pushed the action and threw a right kick to the torso.  He immediately followed with a three punch combo, left-right-left, with the straight right ending the action during the spectacular furry.

Episode Grade:  B+
If it weren’t for the spectacular KO, the episode was pretty lackluster -- no surprises, guest appearances or real action.  Only Uriah being an ass and bowling.  And, by the way, it appeared the preview of this episode suggested Josh’s injuries might play a role -- and, ahem, that didn’t happen.  Luke also continues to be a favorite of the producers.

Brit Teens on Tebow and the NFL

Teenagers aren't always the most well spoken and intelligent, and when you force them outside of their realm of familiarity they don't always rise to the occasion.

These teens, however, are not the feeble loafers described above.  When asked about the NFL, this group of British teens does a surprisingly decent job of discussing America's favorite version of rugby.

A hat tip to Yahoo's Jay Busbee for this gem, where we learn football players, "throw something the shape of a rugby" and "there's a fork thing like a goal" -- and knew Gator jorts were popular across the pond?

The MMA Shake

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon
Jones embraces his 2012 World MMA
'Fighter of the Year Award' in Vegas.

Just when you feel as though you've survived the tsunami of "Harlem Shake" videos, another video hits you like a wall of water you want to hate -- but deep down you love it.

Behold the dance moves of the UFC light heavyweight champion Jon 'Bones' Jones and the Jackson MMA clique in Albuquerque, N.M.

TUF 17 Ep.5 Recap: Bubba's a Bad Man

TUF 17 Ep.5 was a rather cordial affair lacking in trash talk and pranks, but the episode did feature fisticuffs between two dynamically polar contenders seemingly typecast into clichés -- the grizzled veteran that trains with the Champ against the youngest of all time.

The Blow-by-Blow

Early in the episode TUF drops a bit of knowledge on you -- Jon ‘Bones’ Jones trains with Bubba McDaniel (20-6) in Albuquerque, N.M.  With this info nugget on the table, and consistent reminders throughout the episode, the producers make it clear that Bubba is an experienced fighter and should be considered the favorite over Kelvin Gastelum (5-0), who entered the season as the youngest-ever TUF competitor.

One of the more interesting moments in this week’s episode was a casual, even pleasant discussion between Jones and Chael Sonnen early in the episode.  In the hallway outside of the locker rooms, the coaches chat about Bubba’s strengths and his past training with Jones.  The soon-to-be PPV opponents seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company, but Jones records a confessional indicating he has plenty of time to learn to dislike Sonnen before their fight.

At the house, the teams decide to engage in a game of charades.  Charades?  Yes, as in tapping-into-your-inner-thespian-and-acting-stuff-out charades.  Gilbert Smith, who is dressed only in his skibbies and is accordingly ridiculed, surprisingly managed to act out “Coming to America.”

(Sidebar:  “Coming to America” is easily one of the 10 greatest movies of all time, if not top-five, right?  Right.  Somehow, my fiancée has managed to live for 25 years without seeing this cinema classic.)

Meanwhile, Bubba sits outsides sulking by himself next to the fire, which is a lovely place to sulk.  We learn that you probably wouldn’t want to be Bubba’s friend, but more on that later.

As we get closer to the fight, coach Sonnen gives a speech to his team on how the environment will change, but the act doesn’t and soon breaks into a Ric Flair-esque promo:

“This team is coached by the reflection of perfection.  We’re demanding all of your attention and, Jon Jones, I want to know what you’re going to do when you know who, how you’re going to deal with the team of steel and how will you react when I put my boys on the attack.”

Josh Sammen tells Jones he doesn’t want to fight next because, “the whole left side of (his) body is kind of falling apart.”  Unfortunately for Josh, the coaches don’t seem to buy his story and think he’s trying to dictate his schedule. 

Bubba looks good at the weigh in, or is “shredded like lettuce” as a teammate puts it and towers over Kevlin, but there is little drama at the weigh in this week.

Get to Know Your Fighters

Bubba isn’t a good dude.  And he’s old.  Bubba says he’s the kid you know that shouldn’t be alive, but he made it.  And he’s had a lot of trouble with the ‘Johnny Law’: “The law sometimes doesn’t agree with me and it’s cost me.”  He got his start in the fight game when he heard a radio promo for a tough man contest at 19-years-old and got beat down -- and he’s been trying to grind it out as a fighter since. 

Kelvin works as bail bondsman and trains in his time off.  He was raised by a single mother from Mexico who struggled to support their family -- and that provides his inspiration.  As a young up-and-comer, Kelvin’s goals are simple -- he wants to quit his job and be able to train full-time.  Kelvin’s a wrestler by practice, but is working on his boxing, and is the youngest ever on TUF, as mentioned frequently.

Guests in the Gym

This is the face of  fighter, not a lover.

Sonnen brings in no other than swollenface Mickey Rourke to speak to his team.  Rourke explains that, “discipline in (his) life came late,” and two of his boxing draws were on account of messing around the night before.  Discipline.  Keep it in your pants. Valuable lessons indeed.

Gilbert gives Rourke some cred for his boxing career -- who was 6-0-2 in a three year pro run -- but then offers a caveat:  “He probably wasn’t the greatest pro boxer, but, you know, he did step in the ring.”

In addition to Rouke, Sonnen places a call to UFC women’s bantamweight fighter Rhonda Rousey and the future star promised Kelvin, who has an obvious chub for miss Rousey, she will come train with team Sonnen if he wins.

Round One

Both fighters come out feeling each other out.  Bubba (20-6) attacks first, yet finds himself on his back after some poor grappling, but is easily able to kick off the wrestler (5-0).  The fighters immediately clinched, with Kevlin using his leverage to pull Bubba to the ground and onto his back.  While working for a guillotine, Bubba sweeps Kevlin and takes his back, but is unable to secure both hooks on the shorter fighter who fights to his feet.  To this post, the most meaningful strikes of the round may have been a pair of knees to the back of Kevlin’s thigh as Bubba had his back standing.

Back on the ground and Kevlin sweeps Bubba to his back, but Bubba returns the favor shortly after and Kevlin gives up his back.  Bubba sinks the hooks and attempts a read naked choke.  However, Kevlin manages to roll, get to his feet and escape Bubba’s grasp.  Shortly after, Bubba is again on his back and on the defensive after sprawling and seeing the wrestler use his speed to take the back and put Bubba on the mat.  But, Bubba sweeps … again … only to have Kevlin sweep … again.  Kevlin stood and fired a wild strike at the Bubba as he lay on the mat to end the round in the most fitting way possible -- with a big sloppy exclamation point that meant nothing.

I Ain’t a Real Judge

Scoring fights isn’t my day job, but I would give Bubba the round 10-9. 

Round Two

Kevlin opened the second round with the best shot of the night, a solid left leg strike to the outside of Bubba’s right thigh.  But immediately after, the fighters engage in a sloppy exchange of seemingly choreographed kicks, with one fighter unthreateningly flailing right after the other in B-movie Kung-Fu style.  Bubba attempts to trip Kevlin from a clinch, but falls to his back.  Kevlin takes the dominant position and fights for a pair of guillotines, but Bubba escapes and reverses Kevlin to his back.  After again offering his back to Bubba, Kevlin manages to stand and shake Bubba to again to take the top position.  The wrestler is clearly scoring points in the second round -- and Bubba has a significant welt where Kevlin kicked him to start the round.  Kevlin again takes Bubbas back and finally sinks in a strong rear naked choke to end the match.

Winner

And this is the face of defeat, which is
slightly prettier than Rourke.

Kevlin Gastelum by rear naked choke at 2:22 in the second round.

At the Bell

It’s probably a bit of a conspiracy theory, but the producers really seem to like Luke Barnatt.  He seemed to have the most confessional commentary in Ep.5 outside of the pair fighting, and was again featured in the promo for Ep.6.  Is it intentional foreshadowing by the producers or coincidence?  I don’t know, but it just feels like he’s being ‘sold’ by the producers.

Bubba broke down after his loss and had to be reminded by Jones that he is still eligible for the Wild Card to continue his dream. 

After the win, Sonnen again puts Rousey on speakerphone to speak to Kelvin and she agrees to train with team Sonnen.  Kelvin seemingly giggles and has little else to say.

Next Week

As Sonnen eloquently stated, “with Kevlin’s win, the bag guys have retaken control.”  Team Sonnen will put forth Tor Troeng and selected Josh as his opponent -- and the Ep.6 promo hints that his injuries could become an issue.  Sonnen says he selected the fight because, “at the house, guys are intimidated by both these guys.”

Cliché of The Night

“You’re only as good as your last fight.” -- Bubba McDaniel, prior to tears of irony.